BJP leaders demand withdrawal of case against party MLA

Dehradun: A delegation of senior BJP leaders on Friday met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, demanding withdrawal of a case against party MLA Rajkumar Thukral in connection with the 2011 communal riots in Rudrapur.

The delegation, which included former Chief Ministers B C Khanduri, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, said the case against the Rudrapur MLA was "inspired by political vendetta" and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

The FIR lodged in the case seven months ago had no mention of Thukral, whereas another filed in the case recently has named him as an accused, they said.

Even the timing of the riots mentioned in the two FIRs are different, they claimed, adding it was enough to indicate that the case was fabricated and the MLA had been framed.

Bahuguna assured them that the facts of the case will be examined and nothing illegal would be allowed to happen.